THE LOCKET and THE LADY OF BAYOU ST. JOHN by KATE CHOPIN
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
Release Date: 05/03/2026
THE DARLING by ANTON CHEKHOV
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
Anton Chekhov's "the Darling" tells the story of a Russian woman who drew her life from the people she loved- finding through the years that the most powerful love is that of maternal love.
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THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE by MARY WILKINS FREEMAN
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
A retired old seaman and his wife living near a wealthy oceanfront community find that their greatest pleasure in life is taking ownership of a particular waterfront mansion when its occupants are gone. When a terrible storm threatens the property, the old seaman and the black caretaker risk their lives to save the home.
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THE LOCKET and THE LADY OF BAYOU ST. JOHN by KATE CHOPIN
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
Both are Civil War stories. In "The Locket" a young lady receives news that her beau has been killed in battle and receives the locket she had given him. But there might be a case of mistaken identity.
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THE WEDDING RING by HENRY VAN DYKE
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
A happy young couple running a small store in Canada learn a valuable lesson about love.
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AKIN TO LOVE by LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
A single woman living happily alone on her own farm is approached yet again by the neighbor, who is also single, and who asks her again to marry him. After turning him away, a set of dire circumstances makes her reconsider her position.
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LOVE ON THE BON-DIEU by KATE CHOPIN
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
"Love on the Bon-Dieu" was originally published as "Love and Easter" on Oct 30th, 1891, and included in the collection 'Bayou Folk" in 1894. The story focuses on Lalie, a poor Cajun girl who "has a frailness that indicated lack of wholesome and plentiful nourishment"- needless to say, she was living with her grandmother, who abused her, in a run down shanty. A young man named Azenore took pity on her when he met her at the church, and that turned into love.
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A DILL PICKLE by KATHERINE MANSFIELD
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
This story is actually a dialogue between a man and a woman who had once been romantically involved and now find themselves meeting by chance in a small cafe. He has done well the past six years, she- not so well. He leads the conversation, which is all about his travels and the way he once felt for her, and manages to slight her a few times in the course of the conversation. Katherine Mansfield reveals a lot about both of them in just a few words- a real sign of a great classic short story writer.
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WHITE MAGIC by LUCY MAUD MONTGOMERY
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
A young lady is surprised to find that her older sister is about to marry a young man that she really doesn't care for, They both know the young man and he has always befriended the younger sister, so, not wanting to see him hurt, and desperate to find a solution, she goes to the local "old witch" to get a love potion for her sister to turn things around. The story takes place on Prince Edward Island in Canada, the scene of many of Montgomery's stories.
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A HAWAIIAN LOVE STORY
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
The love story of Lolo and Kahikilani from the ancient annals of Hawaii.
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CHAMPAGNE by ANTON CHEKHOV
1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
A young married man working at a menial job at a remote train station drops a bottle of champagne while he and his wife try to celebrate a lonely New Year's Eve, and she advises him that it is a bad omen. Later, walking alone, he is filled with self-pity and convinces himself he does not love his wife. He begins to fulfill the prophecy.
info_outline🎙️ SHOW NOTES — Kate Chopin at 1001 Stories From The Gilded Age
“The Locket”
A Token of Love… A War That Changes Everything
In “The Locket,” Kate Chopin blends tenderness and tragedy in a Civil War–era tale about love, hope, and the fragile promises people cling to in uncertain times. The story follows a young woman who gives her beloved a small gold locket before he leaves for the battlefield — a symbol meant to protect him, to remind him of home, and to bind their futures together.
But war has a way of rewriting lives. When news returns from the front, the locket becomes a haunting reminder of what was lost… and what might still endure. Chopin’s quiet emotional power shines through as she explores how people cope with grief, memory, and the unexpected turns of fate.
Themes & Atmosphere
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Love tested by distance and war
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The symbolic weight of small objects
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Hope, loss, and the stories we tell ourselves
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Chopin’s gentle, bittersweet emotional tone
“Bayou St. John”
A Louisiana Landscape Filled With Secrets, Longing, and Unspoken History
In “Bayou St. John,” Chopin turns her attention to the lush, atmospheric world of New Orleans and its surrounding waterways. The story centers on a woman whose life is shaped by the quiet pull of memory, desire, and the complicated relationships that define her past. As she revisits the bayou — a place rich with personal history — she confronts emotions she has long tried to bury.
Chopin uses the setting itself as a character: the still water, the drifting boats, the humid air, and the sense that the past is never as far away as we think. What unfolds is a reflective, deeply human story about choices, regrets, and the way certain places hold on to us.
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